« CASE to hold protest walk on same weekend as SDP | HomePage | Lees object to SDP's and Francis Seow's affidavits »
26/02/2008
Singapore's January Annual Inflation Increases, Exceeds Expectations
Listen to this article
2/25/2008 2:56:34 AM Singapore's annual inflation in January recorded highest growth since March 1982 and exceeded economists' expectations, official data showed Monday.
The Department of Statistics announced that annual inflation stood at 6.6% in January, up from 4.4% in December. Annual inflation far exceeded the 5.6% expected by economists.
Among the various factors affecting the increase in consumer prices, housing costs jumped 11.1% year-on-year in January, while transportation and communication charges were up 6.9%. Food prices, on the other hand, grew 5.8% in January.
Based on the report of the statistical department, consumer prices rose 1.3% month-on-month in January, while on a seasonally adjusted basis, the monthly increase in the CPI was 1.5%.
On a monthly basis, food prices had a 1.1% increase, which was largely due to greater demand for food items, especially pork, ahead of the Lunar New Year period in early February.
Housing costs marked a 4.1% increase over the month in January. Education and stationery costs grew 2.5%.
The 3-month moving average inflation rose 0.8% month-on-month in January, the report added.
11:48 Posted by soci | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Singapore, inflation, costs, Economy